The present invention relates to a new and improved construction of a switching or switch device or arrangement for the station track system of an overhead cable transport installation, typically an aerial cableway.
Generally speaking, the switching device or arrangement for the station track system of an overhead cable transport installation is of the type comprising a primary or main track and a branch or auxiliary track. Each such primary track and branch track possesses at least one respective travel rail for the carriage wheels of the vehicles which are conveyed between respective stations of the overhead cable transport installation. A travel rail section is movable between a travel position and a rest position and an actuation device or actuation means is operatively connected with the movable travel rail section.
The switching or switch devices or arrangements which are positioned at the station track systems of overhead cable transport installations or locations, render it possible to shunt in and shunt out the vehicles which circulatingly or revolvingly travel between the intended destinations or locations, such as typically different stations or terminals of the overhead cable transport installation along a cable conveying path. The shunting in or shuttling in of vehicles can be accomplished either from a vehicle parking track or, in the case of a mid-station or intermediate station, such as one which is located at an intermediate point between the base station or terminal of a mountain and an upper or top station or terminal of the mountain at which there may be employed such overhead cable transport installation, out of a further cable conveying path or conveying system from which the vehicles must be temporarily shunted out. In the case of heretofore known switching or switch devices of this type the travel rail of the branch track is equipped with a movable travel rail section constructed as a tongue member or the like, whereas the travel rail of the primary or main track, as a general rule, is designed as a continuous track structure. In the travel position of the tongue or tongue member, that is to say, when the vehicles should travel through the branch or auxiliary track, the free end of the tongue or tongue member is assigned the task of raising the travel wheels of the vehicles which are to be shunted or directed onto the branch track, to such an extent that the wheel flanks or track rims of the travel wheels of the vehicles can pass over the travel rail of the primary or main track.
What is disadvantageous with such prior art design of switching or switch devices is that the travel surfaces of the tongue end, by virtue of the design of the system, by necessity form a step or shoulder in relation to the travel surfaces of the travel rail upon which the tongue end bears. Apart from the fact that the travel velocity of the vehicles, when passing over such step or shoulder, is undesirably affected, also impact or shock-like motions or blows are imparted to the carriages of the vehicles. These sudden impacts or blows are undesired since they undesirably accelerate or promote the wear of the equipment. In the case of overhead cable transport installations which are used for the conveyance of passengers, wherein the vehicle cabins also travel in a loaded state or condition over the switching or switch tongues, such impacts or blows impair the travel comfort of the passengers. It is worthy of mention that there also exists the danger of derailing of the vehicles since at the corresponding region of the switching device there is usually absent a guide rail for stabilization of the through passing vehicles and the aforementioned impacts or blows therefore can initiate pendulum or swinging motions at the vehicles.